


Red Carnation

by megastarstrike



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Flowers, Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 17:47:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13686678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megastarstrike/pseuds/megastarstrike
Summary: Raising money for the school by selling white, pink, and red carnations to students to give to their friends and lovers on Valentine's Day was a terrible idea, but that didn't mean Kokichi wouldn't get something out of it.





	Red Carnation

**Author's Note:**

> guys flower meaning has no relation in this fic this was just the colors and meanings my own school used when they decided to pull this kind of thing. also this was supposed to be around 700 words but alas. over 3500. please send help

When someone mentioned doing stupid things in school, a few memories Kokichi would rather forget came to mind. The first was when Kaito had gotten a less than stellar grade on a test and punched a hole in the classroom’s wall that still hadn’t been fixed yet. Another memorable moment was when Angie had been painting late at night and accidentally drank from the cup she used to mix paints rather than the cup containing her actual drink. The student council had even tried to organize a dance in the middle of finals week, yet this was probably the dumbest idea the student council had come up with in a while.

“Carnations for Valentine’s Day!” Kaede announced, holding up three carnations of different colors in demonstration. She sighed at the following silence, and her smile tightened. “I’m really sorry, guys. This wasn’t my idea. Can you please just go along with it?”

The class of fifteen erupted in cheers and applause.

She beamed. “Thanks. Anyway, here’s how it’ll work. You’ll be able to buy carnations from posts the student council sets up around the hallways before school starting tomorrow. You can deliver them yourself, or you can just give us the name of the person you want to give it to, and we’ll deliver it for you on Valentine’s Day. You have to sign something, but there’s an anonymous option.” She held up the respective flowers as she explained the colors. “The white carnations are for people like acquaintances or teachers or anyone you like but don’t feel strong feelings towards. The pink carnations are for friends and family. And the red one’s for your crush or lover. Someone you feel romantic feelings for, basically.”

“You nasty boys better not try to give Tenko or Himiko or any of the girls your disgusting feelings!”

Kokichi didn’t even have to turn around to know who that was. He turned around anyway with a grin on his face and hands folded behind his head. “But Tenko, what if we really love this one girl? What if we even want to marry her one day?”

“You’re the gayest fucker I’ve ever seen, don’t even try lying about that,” Miu snorted from the seat beside him.

“You’re no fun, Miu.” But he had to admit he was grateful for the call-out; Tenko had glared as if she were about to throw him out the window.

As the class discussed the news about the carnations, Rantarou scooted closer to Kokichi and Miu with a smile. “Hey, guys. What do you think about the carnations?”

“They’re pretty stupid, and I’m not lying about that,” Kokichi scoffed, sneering down at his fingernails. “There’s too many downsides with them like flowers rotting easily or it being a pain to carry around with you all day. I know you can just plant it in the school garden, but everyone else probably has the same idea. Besides, what if someone doesn’t get a single flower? That’d be pretty sad.”

“Wow, I can’t believe the bratty abortion actually has feelings,” Miu said. She cowered under his glare. “S-Sorry… But I’m planning on giving both of you carnations anyway, so neither of you should worry about not getting flowers.”

“Guess it’s the stupid slut’s time to have feelings.” He gave her a mocking smirk. “Aw, does our little whore care about us?”

Miu’s face burned bright red. “Shut the fuck up! You’re the virgin that wants a red carnation from Shu—” She was cut off by Kokichi’s hand being slammed on her mouth.

“Can you say that a little quieter, you ignorant bitch?” Kokichi hissed. He released his hand and beamed, ignoring her following moan. “And no, I don’t want a red carnation from Shuuichi.  _ He’s _ the one that wants it from  _ me. _ ”

Rantarou shook his head and clicked his tongue like a disapproving brother. “I know you lie a lot, but you shouldn’t lie about your feelings. That’s not healthy. Just admit you want the carnation and move on.”

“Why won’t you guys believe me? Am I not your friend?” Tears welled in his eyes, though they didn’t seem bothered by it. “I can’t believe these ten years of friendship were a complete lie all this time! You tricked me!”

“It’s only been three years.”

The tears stopped as soon as they came. Kokichi’s lips curled down into a frown. “Hmph! You people need to learn how to appreciate your supreme leader.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Miu said, “Now can one of you fuckers let me copy our notes from the lecture yesterday? I wasn’t paying attention.”

“What were you doing?” Rantarou asked, one eyebrow quirked up. “You were in class all day.”

“Watching porn.”

“Of course you did. Why did I even ask if I knew the answer? Hold on, I’ll get it.” He stood up from his chair to retrieve the class notes.

While they were distracted, Kokichi’s gaze drifted to Shuuichi, who sat in the front corner with Kaede, Kaito, and Maki. The first two appeared to be poking and teasing him while Maki leaned back in her chair, silent. Shuuichi ducked his head, trying and failing to hide a blush underneath his cap. His fingers were wrapped around the purple pen Kokichi had given him a few weeks ago.

Kokichi sent a warning glare at Miu, who had raised a suggestive eyebrow at him. He had no idea when he had told his friends about his crush, and that was probably because they had somehow figured it out on their own (He supposed he wasn’t exactly subtle with it, but it still bothered him). And now they poked and prodded him every time his crush so much as looked in his direction. God, crush was such a stupid word. What was he, a lovesick puppy?

Then Shuuichi caught his eye and gave him a shy smile that sent his heart soaring.

… Maybe he really was.

Kokichi fumbled to cover his embarrassment with a grin and looked away as if he hadn’t just been caught staring. It wasn’t even an hour into school yet, and he wanted to bury himself in a hole already. He refocused himself back into the conversation when Rantarou returned with the class notes and a purple pen.

 

*

 

Valentine’s Day had come too soon, and it was no less obnoxious than the previous years. Red posters lined the hallways. Cards containing pick-up lines were taped on every wall. Someone had even set up a fan blowing out pink cherry blossoms on the ceiling of the school (Kokichi personally blamed Tsumugi, but he had no evidence). Couples holding hands or kissing were stationed all over the school, including right in front of Kokichi’s classroom.

Just as Kokichi opened his mouth to get them to move away, Miu barreled past them with her lips drawn into a scowl. “Get the fuck out of my way. Stop making porn in the hallway and let us through, you horny virgins.”

“Yeah, what the stinky bitch said,” Kokichi said before walking past the glaring couple.

Rantarou gave the couple an apologetic smile and walked in as well. He shut the door behind him. The class turned their heads towards the noise but returned to their discussions. “You two have got to stop provoking people. One day, you’re actually gonna get into a fist fight, and all I’ll do is laugh.”

“That’s a lie, and you know it. We’ve discussed this before, Rantarou. You’d also be recording it.”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t deny that.”

“Anyway,” Miu said. She held out a carnation to both of them. “Here are your pointless flowers. Are you gonna give me mine or what?”

The three exchanged flowers before reading the cards attached to it.

Kokichi took the one addressed to him and smiled at the name written on the card. “Cockichi Twinkma? That’s more creative than you usually are.”

“... Cuntarou Dickmami and free-shuh-vah-cuh-do.” Rantarou sighed but couldn’t help the smile threatening to take over his face. “Why are you two like this?”

“I don’t wanna hear that from the bitch that just drew a flower on a card that’s supposed to be on a fucking flower,” Miu said, showing them the flower doodle.

“Hey, at least I drew it in pink pen. You told me your favorite color’s pink, right?”

Miu gaped before hunching her back and looking away, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “Y-Yeah. Thanks. Anyway, you think anyone’s gotten a red carnation yet?”

The trio looked around the room, and none of the red carnations were a surprise. Himiko had gotten one from a student council officer who had stepped in earlier as a messenger and somehow had no clue who had gifted it to her. The same applied to Kaito, who somehow didn’t expect one from his girlfriend, and Maki, who also somehow didn’t expect one from her boyfriend. (Their class was full of oblivious morons, Kokichi noted. Judging by the exasperated looks sent around the room, he wasn’t the only one who took note of that either.)

Then the room went silent as another messenger walked in. The students exchanged a raised eyebrow. All the obvious candidates had already been gifted red carnations. Maybe the messenger got the wrong class?

It became clear that wasn’t the case when the messenger glanced at the card and announced, “Kokichi Ouma.”

Even more silence.

Kaede cleared her throat and pointed a finger at Kokichi. “Y-Yeah, thanks. That’s him.”

The messenger nodded and walked out of the room, leaving sixteen students in shock.

The first person to speak was Miu, who stared at the red carnation, stood up, took a deep breath, and slowly said, “What. The. Fuck.”

That seemed to have sparked the class out of their surprise, as the silence was shattered by screaming and interrogations.

“I mean, Cuckichi’s my best friend and all, but no one in their right mind would ever date this twink,” Miu said, plucking the note out of Kokichi’s hands. She took one look at the first line before handing it back. “Man, this guy must really love your eyes. They look like shitty raisins to me, but whatever.”

“Poetic. And can you keep your hands to yourself for once, you dirty whore?” Kokichi hissed.

Miu shrunk back in her seat, her legs squeezing together. “I-I was just trying to help…”

“Dude, if you actually sent yourself a red carnation, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Kaito said from the other side of the classroom.

Kokichi slipped the card into his pocket. “Man, Kaito, you must be dumber than I thought. That’s  _ reaaally _ dumb, in case you can’t grasp that.”

“You little—”

“I can’t believe Kokichi actually got someone to like him that way,” Rantarou teased. He ruffled Kokichi’s hair with his hand. “My little brother’s growing up, huh?”

Kokichi shoved his hand away and opened his mouth to retort before more and more people started to speak up.

“Not quite raisins, Miu. More like… rotten grapes maybe? But then again, I’ve never seen a rotten grape before.”

“I still think he’s pranking us. There’s no way someone else got that red carnation for him.”

“Who could like him romantically?”

Doubt was expected, but Kokichi didn’t expect it to hurt so much. He sent a quick glare to Miu and Rantarou, who exchanged concerned glances. Just before he plastered a grin on his face and passed off the carnation as a prank, two people shouted, “Stop!”

The room fell silent, and Miu and Shuuichi were left staring at each other, one bewildered and the other mildly horrified. Shuuichi’s mouth opened and closed before he surrendered the stage to Miu.

Miu squinted her eyes in confusion before turning to the rest of the class. “I know I made the joke and all, but that doesn’t mean any of you fuckers have the privilege of taking the great Miu Iruma’s role of roasting the shit out of her friends.  _ I’m _ the only one who can make fun of him like that. Got it?”

Then someone spoke up from the doorway.

“Miss Iruma, get off the desk this instant. You aren’t the teacher here. Now take your detention slip.”

The students’ mouths snapped shutted. They watched Miu with wide eyes as someone hummed  _ Taps _ .

Miu’s gaze darted between Kokichi’s pleading eyes and the teacher before she hung her head and trudged towards the teacher, holding her hand out. Just as the pink detention slip neared her hand, she ducked under the teacher’s arm and fled down the hall.

The teacher gawked at her. “Wha—Iruma! Get back here!” She took off after her.

The class stared after the teacher before returning to their smaller groups of friends, moving on from the topic.

Add  _ that _ to the list of stupid shit their class has done.

“Are you okay?” Rantarou asked, setting a hand on Kokichi’s shoulder. 

The familiar heavy warmth settled on his shoulder. Kokichi let out a sob and wiped his eyes. “I’m so proud of our little bitch, Rantarou! She’s finally learning how to get away with crimes from the master.”

“You literally got caught taking selfies during a test.”

“So did you.”

“That’s fair.” Rantarou fixed a smile on him. “But let us know if a joke goes too far out of hand, okay? I know you like being the center of attention, but it can get too much for even you. We care about you in our own ways.”

Kokichi couldn’t lie about how warm he felt from those words, but his feelings weren’t speaking right now. “Gross.”

Rantarou chuckled. “Yeah, sorry about that. Are you gonna read your card now?”

“Maybe, maybe not. It might be a trap, you know. Someone could assassinate me by hiding a bomb in the card. The moment it detects my eyes reading the letters, it could explode. I’m doing you all a favor by not reading it.”

“One of the seniors blew up the gym a few years ago, you can’t do any worse than that. You’re worried it’s a prank, right? Here, I’ll read it with you.”

“You didn’t listen to a thing I just said, but fine. Just because I love you so much.” Kokichi laid the card flat on the desk. He fought down the blush rising to his face at the sweet words written on the card and tried not to notice the beat his heart skipped. “This is a great prank. You can tell some thought actually went into this. The school might have another prankster on their hands.”

Rantarou gave him a strange look. “You’re so quick to think it’s a prank, but it’s not.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s signed.”

“... What?”

“It’s signed. Did you not see it?”

True to his word, a tiny sheet of paper was wedged in between the layers of the card. The signature was in purple glitter gel pen and could clearly show two S’s. The other letters were illegible.

“That looks like the request form,” Rantarou said, “Someone was probably rushing and forgot that trash cans existed, which is a mood. But that ink looks a bit familiar, right?”

“I only gave a pen with that ink to two people. I don’t think your first or last name starts with an S, Rantarou.”

“You know what that means, right?”

It took a moment for Kokichi to process what had just happened before his heart stopped and he froze. His world shattered around him, and nothing seemed real anymore. He hazarded a glance at the culprit, who seemed oblivious to his discovery. “No way. There’s no way Shuuichi could ever like me.”

“But you’re still gonna confront him, right?”

“Maybe, maybe not. The world will never know,” Kokichi said, slipping the card back into his pocket. If he did confront Shuuichi, he would have to pick a location that had fewer people around. He didn’t want him to feel pressured, after all. 

His gaze fell on the red carnation on his desk. Maybe he could take a better approach. “Do you know if we can still buy carnations?”

Rantarou shrugged. “Apparently they’re still selling them all day. Why?”

“No reason.”

 

*

 

“Hey, Shuuichi! Whatcha doing?” Kokichi greeted, smiling as Shuuichi jumped.

Shuuichi whipped around and sighed upon seeing him. “Hi, Kokichi. I would really appreciate if you were quiet in the library.”

“Who cares? It’s not like anyone else is around.”

“That’s a lie. I know for a fact that Kiibo and Gonta are on the other side of the library, and some students from the other classes are here, too.”

“Nishishi! Looks like my beloved Shuuichi caught me again,” Kokichi said, his voice dropping to a whisper. He sat down in the chair next to him. “Since you’re on a roll with this detective stuff, who do you think gave me a red carnation?”

“I would hardly call basic common sense something only detectives use, but…” Shuuichi trailed off, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. “I suppose it could be anyone besides the obvious people already ruled out. It could be anyone from our class or even from another class if—K-Kokichi?”

Kokichi had slipped a red carnation into Shuuichi’s hands with a soft smile on his face. “You’re a really bad liar, you know. What were you thinking, signing something in a pen I only gave to two people?”

Shuuichi gaped at him before averting his gaze. “That… That was supposed to be anonymous.”

“Like I said, you’re a bad liar. But what’s the point of anonymizing it if it’s so obvious?”

“I-I just…” Shuuichi sighed. “I guess I just wanted to let you know that you’re loved without making it look like I was trying to make a move. It’s okay if it’s not reciprocated, I just wanted you to know. And I hope that scene from earlier this morning didn’t upset you. I’m sure they mean well.”

Kokichi’s heart felt as if it had been set on fire, and he was sure his face looked the same way. He processed the words, his face blanking before settling into one of boredom. “You weren’t trying to make a move? That’s a shame.”

“What?”

“Because I really wanted you to make a move.” He pointed at the red carnation. “That’s not the same red carnation you gave me.”

Shuuichi turned the stem of the carnation in his fingers, running his nails along the grooves in the stem before the implications hit him. His eyes widened and his breath hitched. “Wait, so that means…”

“Yup! I like you, too!” Kokichi cheered, folding his arms behind his head in an effort to mask how his fingers twitched from anticipation and nervousness. If the sound of murmurs and papers rustling hadn’t covered it up, he was sure they could have heard his heart pounding in his chest.

Shuuichi examined him, his eyes almost hopeful as he scanned every part of his body. “Kokichi, you can’t lie about something like this. You’re not lying, right?”

“I’m not lying.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup.”

“Are you really sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Shuuichi gulped and met his eyes. “Then prove it.”

The tension from his last sentence hung in the air until Kokichi broke into a teasing smirk. “You know, if you wanted me to kiss you, you could’ve just said so.”

Shuuichi’s face burned red, and he sputtered out embarrassed noises before finally managing to mumble something coherent out. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m doing. I just heard that line in a movie once.”

Kokichi’s smile turned warm despite the way his heart leaped to his throat. “Then we can figure it out together as boyfriends.”

“B-Boyfriends?”

“Yeah, boyfriends. Do you not want to be?”

“I-I mean, that would… that would be nice,” Shuuichi said, covering his face with a hand.

A mischievous smile grew on Kokichi’s face. “My lovely, interesting, kind, smart boyfriend.”

“Stop,” Shuuichi whined, burrowing his burning face in his hands.

“Such a great, talented, amazing, wonderful person.” Kokichi snickered and locked their hands together. “Nishishi! Your face is so red, Shuuichi.”

“You may think I’m all those things, but…” Shuuichi pried his hands away from his face to look Kokichi straight in the eyes. “You’re fun, interesting, intelligent, cute… How am I the first to date you?”

“You’re the only one who bothered to know me,” Kokichi snorted, but Shuuichi’s giggle told him he wasn’t as successful in hiding the smile and blush rising to his face as he would have liked to be. He jumped out of his chair and held a hand out. “Come on, we’re going on a date.”

Then all of Shuuichi’s courage evaporated. “D-Date? Isn’t it a bit too soon for—“

“It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without a date. That’s actually a law, you know. Being boyfriends with me but not taking me out is a federal crime.”

“You don’t have to lie for me to go on a date with you,” Shuuichi said, closing his book. He smiled and took his hand. “Let’s go to the gardens and plant our carnations. I’m sure a few others have already done that, but I don’t want our carnations to die.”

Oh right. Kokichi had almost forgotten about them. 

Kokichi took both of their carnations with his free hand and skipped away, dragging Shuuichi with him. The silence between them was neither awkward nor was it intentional, but it was enough.

And sometimes, enough was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, my school actually did this. They actually sold carnations and it was actually successful. I mean, _I_ never got one, but hey
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this (admittedly rushed) fic! Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.


End file.
